Mackie Onyx 1620i as DAW-controller, audio interface for vocal tracking ++

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ska92

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I work mostly with MIDI and vocal tracking (beatmaking) and have grown tired of everything going super-slow. So will the 1620i work well a controller for both Pro Tools and Logic? Is there any kind of decent auto-mapping for both DAWs? And I want something that will be able to record 16 channels individually into PT/Logic - will the 1620i get the job done? I'm fairly new to this, so I have actually done my reasearch, I just don't want to buy gear that has a bunch of extra functions i won't need, or that won't do what I need it for. I basically want something that will handle every kind of job (to som extent) - recording a band, with ca. 8 drum tracks, two guitar tracks, bass, and 3-4 vocals. Live gigs with the same amount of tracks needed, and a decent DAW-controller.

What would my other options be?

I can also get a good price on a Mackie 1604 vlz pro, but understand that this will only give me usable pan and volume? Everything else will be much easier to control from within my DAW i assume?

What do you think?

Edit: Looks like i missed something during my first specs read-through ; I guess the 1640i is the one to consider since the 1620i only has two outs
 
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The 1620i/1640i are simply analog mixers with a better-than-most FireWire integration - they're not DAW controllers at all (same goes for the VLZ series, although they don't even have any kind of a digital interface). But as a solution to record & mix 16 channels, not a bad choice - was considering the 1640i myself for a long time...eventually gave up that dream mainly because of space constraints.
 
Okay, but I can control volume, pan and eq by passing the signal from pro tools back into the mixer? What's the signals path with the 1640i? In other words: How do I hook up my gear when recording drums, guitars, bass and vocals with the 1640i? Mics into the pre-amps -> signal from (lets say) 16 sources out through firewire into individual tracks in PT/Logic. How do I return what I have recorded onto my channel strips on the mixer? I see there is no mix B, is this because its a hybrid mixer? I any case, can I not control volume, pan, simple eq and aux of my recorded audio on the mixer?

Can I record a band with nothing but the appropriate amount of mics and cables, the 1640i and my Mac running PT?

I have just learned the basics of an anolog mixer hooked up to PT, but I'm not a technical guy, so it takes time to sink in.
 
The signal path is relatively simple, as there's only the FireWire connection that handles the audio both ways. So yeah, you can do what you're describing, although this would mean always re-recording the tracks again to the computer when you're done adjusting what you want with the mixer (as opposed to just adjusting things in your DAW's mixer).
 
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